1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiple shoe rack bag having a pocket for accommodating therein one or more chemical compositions, such as insecticides, deodorants, demoisturizing agents, antimicrobial agents and the like, which are effective for the protection of garments.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The prior art has used various methods and structures to provide access for fumigants into a garment bag. Fumigants have long been employed to protect the contents from damage by moths and the like. The best and most common fumigant for this purpose has been and continues to be paradichlorobenzene which is the typical component in moth balls.
It is known in the prior art that alternative fumigants may be used. Alternatives to paradichlorobenzene are the following insecticidal substances which may be used by themselves or in a combination with one another or with other insecticidal substances: chlorinated hydrocarbons such as lindane or methoxychlor; phosphoric acid esters such as chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl or dichlorvos; and pyrethroids such as vaprothrin (emphenthrin), permethrin, bioresmethrin, bioallethrin, kadethrin, decis, cyflythrin or fenfluthrin.
Examples of clothing bags that include various arrangements for holding and transferring insecticides into garment bags to protect stored clothing are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,066,265 issued to Freid on Jul. 1, 1913; 1,658,596 issued to Goldish on Feb. 7, 1928; 2,755,013 issued to Beede on Jul. 17, 1956; 4,923,745 issued to Wolfert et al. on May 8, 1990; and 5,002,183 issued to Okano on Mar. 26, 1991.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,183, a clothing bag is disclosed which is comprised of a gas-permeable surface sheet and a gas-impermeable back sheet. These sheets are joined together at their peripheries. A second gas-impermeable sheet is joined at its periphery to the surface sheet of the garment bag to make a pocket for accommodating a chemical therein. The garment bag described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,183 is the first to provide an outside pocket on a garment bag that is readily accessible and is comprised of a large permeable surface for introducing fumigants into garment bags.
In the present invention, the concept of an externally accessible pocket for introducing fumigant into a multiple shoe rack bag is used. However, the construction of the pocket is such that the need for using a bag which is comprised of a gas-permeable surface sheet is eliminated.
In accordance with the present invention, the front, back and side panels of a shoe rack bag are made of gas-impermeable material. A portion of the shoe rack bag is cut out to form an opening in the bottom front of the bag.
A pocket having (1) a perforated back surface comprised of an impermeable material and (2) an unperforated front surface also comprised of an impermeable material is used to close the opening.
The configuration and area of the opening can be varied depending on the size and the shape of the opening desired. The opening is closed by placement of a pocket thereover. The pocket, as noted above, is composed entirely of impermeable material. The front surface of the pocket includes an access means, preferably a zipper, which is preferred over Velcro(copyright) closings that have been found to be susceptible to leakage. The zipper allows access to the pocket when opened and effectively seals the front surface of the pocket when closed. The pocket has perforations which pass through the pocket back surface to allow a sublimated fumigant to travel from the pocket into the shoes racked in the bag. The degree of permeability can easily and economically be controlled by changing the size and number of perforations. Moreover, the lower part of the pocket to which the solid source for fumigant gravitates during sublimation is preferably not perforated. The small residue particles resulting from sublimation gravitate to the bottom of the pocket where such residue is collected.
In making the pocket of the present invention, the zipper is sewn into the outside nonperforated piece of polyethylene of the pocket and then such nonperforated front piece is sewn to the perforated piece which is exposed to the interior of the bag when the pocket is in place and covers the cut-out portion of the bag. The resulting pocket is then sewn into an opening cut out from any of the gas impermeable surfaces of the bag. In this regard, the pocket pouch can be sewn into any part of the bag in which the opening is made. In the case of a hanging multiple shoe rack bag, the pocket can be sewn into the front bottom. This placement allows for an area of air space to exist between the pocket and the lowermost row of shoes racked in the bag. The shoes generally are placed in flexible racks spaced along a back panel of the bag. It is believed that such placement permits greater dissemination of the chemicals so as to provide a greater degree of protection for the shoes. In underbed shoe storage boxes, the pocket may be sewn over any opening in the front, back or one or more of the sides of the underbed shoe storage box. The pocket used in the present invention can also be sewn over the openings on one or more of the sides of portable shoe racks. In fact, the pocket of the present invention can be sewn into any type of container that is used to store and protect shoes or other household articles that would benefit from being kept free of insects or other elements that can damage or impregnate the goods with offensive odors.
The pocket used in making the storage containers of the present invention is preferably constructed of polyethylene. Commonly used protective chemicals will not damage polyethylene. Specifically, moth balls and crystals of paradichlorobenzene do not damage polyethylene. Use of polyethylene or other unaffected materials for constructing the pocket permits the other surface materials of the container to be composed of plastic materials such as PVC because the chemicals retained in the pouch will not come into direct contact with the shoes inside the container.
Additionally, the pocket includes a zipper. The zipper, which is preferably metallic, opens and closes easily. It has been found that Velcro(copyright) closure devices are more cumbersome to open and close and do not provide a closure as complete as a zipper. The zipper makes it easier for the user merely to zip open and add moth balls or crystals into the pocket as old mothballs or crystals dissipate.
The pocket or pouch can also function as a holding space for other shoe care products, such as shoe shine brushes and other soil removal products, thereby keeping such products within close and readily accessible proximity to the shoes to be treated.